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HPV Vaccinations Cancer Prevention Is Here
BY LESLIE VERMEER
HAVE YOU EVER given money to help find a cure for cancer?
You probably have: according to the Canadian Cancer Society, in 2016/17 Canadians donated more than $40-million specifically to cancer research (and much more to education and support programs). But did you know that for some cancers, we have something even better than a cure? We have prevention. The HPV vaccine prevents the development of an infection that is associated with almost all cases of cervical cancer, as well as a number of other forms of cancer. The problem is, despite that we can now prevent some cancers, many young people are not being vaccinated against HPV, and the reasons are simple: misinformation and discomfort.
What Is HPV? Human papillomavirus (HPV) is, as its name suggests, a virus. More significantly, it is an enormously common sexually transmitted infection (STI), currently believed to be the most common STI in the world. Both women and men can be infected by HPV and can transmit it to their partners of either sex. Dozens of strains of HPV have been identified; of these, nine are responsible for the majority of serious health consequences. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, HPV infection causes almost all cervical cancers; it is also associated with 80 to 90 percent of anal cancers, 40 percent of vaginal and vulvar cancers, 40 to 50 percent of penile cancers and 25 to 35 percent of cancers of the mouth and throat. The large majority of sexually active people will have HPV at some point during their lives. For most people, the infection will be asymptomatic—that is, they won’t know that they are infected or that they could transmit the infection to a partner (Some strains of HPV cause genital warts in men and women; this is the only common sign of infection). Most people’s bodies will fight and clear an HPV infection within two to three years with no long-term concerns. But each year 6 T8Nmagazine.com
